A broad group of diseases involving unregulated cell growth is known as cancer or as malignant neoplasia. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, causing the cells to form lumps or tumors. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. Not all tumors are cancerous; benign tumors do not invade neighboring tissues and do not spread throughout the body.
For the treatment of cancer, chemotherapeutic, immunotherapeutic or immunomodulatory and antiangiogenic agents have been reported. Agents can be used as monotherapy (treatment with one agent) or as combination therapy (simultaneous, separate or sequential treatment with another agent). The treatments may also be combined with radiotherapy.
In this respect, a chemotherapeutic agent means a naturally occurring, semi-synthetic or synthetic chemical compound which, alone or via further activation, for example with radiations in the case of radio-immunotherapy, inhibits or kills growing cells, and which can be used or is approved for use in the treatment of diseases of oncological nature, which are commonly also denominated as cancers. In the literature, these agents are generally classified according to their mechanism of action. In this matter, reference can be made, for example, to the classification made in “Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agents”, American Chemical Society, 1995, W.O. Foye Ed.
Even if several therapeutic agents have already been investigated and used, there is still a need for new and efficient therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer diseases.
One object of the present invention is to provide a method for the treatment of various cancer diseases.